A New Training Partner

It’s been nearly 4 years since I have done an organized endurance event. Two months ago, I got back on my bike.

In the basement. At 11 pm. After washing bottles, folding laundry and cleaning up tiny pieces of mango stuck to the kitchen floor.

Life has certainly changed in four years.

My new training partner is about 25 pounds and yells out orders such as, “Nana! Mama! Nana!!” She can be pretty demanding and doesn’t accept my excuses. She’s nineteen months old and definitely has a tenacious side to her.

Because my schedule no longer offers the same kinds of opportunities to ride or cross train, I’ve had to learn new ways to exercise on and off of the bike, with and without my training partner.

Using a computrainer has never been such a welcome means of training. Actually, it’s been my only means of cycling. It’s been pretty humbling too. Recently, I did an FTP test and found that I’m about 40 watts lower than even three years ago. Now I burn 450 calories in an hour and feel it. A lot.

For cross training, carrying a toddler is decent for the core. But the best exercise I’ve found is using my Holoholo board while holding her. Can’t do more than five minutes at a time, but it can’t hurt. Well, until we fall.

The other means of cross training has become carrying my coach in a Kelty. Recently we did a hike through our little sleepy town of Delavan, ending at the playground. Never thought swings and a sliding board could be such a welcome destination for a hike.

In six weeks, I’ll be doing the Riverwest 24. Not exactly Sebring or the 508, and hopefully it will be a lot of fun. One thing is for sure, as I reach mid life with a toddler in tow, my goals for events are very different.

I’m thankful for friends who are willing to support me at the event, and spend some extra time with my daughter, too. Maybe in twenty years, she’ll want to do something a little crazy like this. Whatever she decides to do, I hope she can look back on the photos of us training together and recognize that she was a huge part of the process and the reason for doing so.
Bonnie is a full time stay at home mom and a part time psychotherapist in Waukesha. She can be reached at: http://www.newgrowththroughchange.com/